Tabb starts quickly, beats Grafton 2-0 in field hockey showdown

YORK — Aly Harmatz often sets the tone for Tabb High’s field hockey team. She wasted no time doing so Thursday in a battle for first place in the Bay Rivers District at rival Grafton.

Harmatz dribbled quickly down the field through several Grafton players and pressured the Clippers’ goal. She didn’t score on the run, but she would score the first goal and assist on the second as the Tigers beat the Clippers 2-0.

The four-time defending Group A/AA state champion Tigers (14-0, 7-0) remained ahead of the Clippers (7-4, 4-1) by winning what is likely the first of several meetings between the 2011 state finalists. Harmatz’s early foray to the Grafton goal was a preview of a first half in which the Tigers took the attack into the Clippers’ end virtually the entire time.

“That’s a little tactic we use that works well, because everyone is running up the field and going full speed,” Harmatz said. “It shows we’re out to push ourselves our hardest and will do whatever it takes to win.”

What Harmatz also did was take Tabb coach Wendy Wilson’s advice to release her shots a little more quickly. She did exactly that on a pass from Hayley Mills 12 minutes in, scoring from a severe angle about 10 yards out to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

“Aly’s done a great job this season,” Wilson said. “She uses her speed, has a great shot and is just a really hard worker.”

She had help in pushing the ball from many, particularly Lauren Mitcham and Melissa Progar. Were it not for some terrific defensive work by Grafton defenders Julia Young, Alice Grace Cherry and goalie Andrea Rinehart, the Tigers, who outshot the Clippers 23-2, would’ve had a bigger halftime lead.

As big as the game was, Grafton coach Brooke Feiner felt her players were inevitably distracted early by homecoming weekend at the school. But the Clippers, led by Kaylee Maunz, did a better job of pushing the attack to Tabb in the second half, although the pressure did not produce many shots on goal.

“It’s a little more pressure than we’re used to, but I think we handled it well,” said Tabb defender Lorissa Morton, who, along with Courtney O’Brien and Betsy Wusk, did a nice job of stopping the Grafton attack. “We just have to keep our sticks low and pressure the ball as much as possible.”

Any chance of a Grafton comeback ended in the final minute, when Harmatz crossed the ball to Maddie Landers, who slotted it in to make it 2-0.

“Grafton’s got some great girls, and they were pushing up and we were getting tested,” Wilson said. “The girls held their own and responded well.”